Waffle iron



Jan. 24, 1950 H. H. MILLER 2,495,638

WAF'FLE IRON Filed Jill 1, 1948 Inventor": Homer HMHIer;

His Attorney.

Patented Jan. 24, 1950 WAFFLE IRON Homer H. Miller, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 1, 1948, Serial N 0. 36,361

1 Claim.

This invention relates to electric waiiie irons and it has for its object the provision in a waflle iron of an electric heating unit structure having improved electric connection means connecting the grid heating element and the electric supply conductors therefor.

This invention, in one form, comprises an endless support, preferably in the form of a ring, for the resistance conductor heating element of the heating unit. This support, in one section thereof, has a plurality of transverse passages joining the inner and outer sides of the support. The resistance conductor, which is mounted on the outer side of the support, has its terminals directed in toward the inner side thereof through separate ones of the passages, and the supply conductors for the heater enter these same passages from the inner side of the support. The supply conductors are joined to the terminals in the passages .by any suitable connection means; are folded back, and directed outwardly to the outside of the support through other passage means.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference should be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of an electric waiile iron embodying this invention; and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the heating unit used in the waille iron of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, this invention has been shown in one form as applied to an electrically heated Wafile iron comprising a base I to which the lower heating grid 2 is attached. An upper heating grid 3 is fixed within the upper casing 4. This casing is hinged at the rear of the base I by means of a hinge 5 and is provided in front with a handle 6.

The upper grid 3 is heated by means of a heating unit comprising a coiled resistance conductor I mounted upon the outside periphery of an electrically insulating supporting brick 8. This brick, as shown, has a ring shape, the ring having inner and outer concentric cylindrical walls. Also, the brick has two series of spaced apart projections 9 and In above and below the resistance conductor which function to hold the conductor in position with respect to the brick, the projections of the upper row 9 preferably being positioned opposite the spaces between the projections of the lower row ID.

The resistance heater element I is in the form of a broken ring with its two terminal ends I I and I2 being adjacent to each other and being directed from the outer side of the ring back toward the inner side in substantially parallel relation with each other through horizontal tubular passages I3 and I 4 formed in the ring.

Also entering these passages I3 and I4, but from the inner side of the ring are a pair of electrically insulated supply conductors l5 and I6. And located within the two passages respectively are electric connectors I1 and I8 which function to mechanically and electrically connect the heater terminals II and I2 with the conducting wires of the supply conductors I5 and I6. The connectors I7 and I8 may be of any suitable, well-known construction.

Inside the ring the supply conductors I5 and are are directed upwardly toward the top of the ring from the two passages l3 and I4 and thence are directed from the inner side of the, ring to the outer side thereof through a pair of horizontal passages I9 and I9a respectively, which passages, as shown, are open at the top. From the outside of the ring, these conductors are directed and connected to the heating element (not shown) or the lower grid 2 and to the usual twin supply terminal pins (not shown).

The open-top passages I9 and I9a are closed by means of a circular plate 20. This plate is the bottom wall of a pan-shaped clamping plate 2| which, at the center is attached to the upper grid 3 by means of a screw 22 entering a boss 23 which is formed integrally with and which extends upwardly from the grid. The plate 20 at its peripheral edge is provided with a downturned flange 24 which is spaced from, but which covers the resistance heater 1. The plate 22 functions not only to close the passages I9 and I 9a, but it also functions to clamp the heater brick 8 and the heater I supported thereby to the upper grid. The pan at the point opposite the supply conductors I5 and I6 is provided with an opening 25 registering with the passages I9 and I9a and through which the conductors I5 and I6 pass to their terminals (not shown).

By virtue of the fact that the conductors I5 and I6 are folded back over themselves, so to speak, through the passages l9 and I9a, the conductors are anchored to the heater brick; that is, the looped sections formed in the conductors, as they are folded back on themselves and thence run to the outside of the heater brick, function to anchor the conductors to the brick.

What I claim to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A waffle iron comprising a grid, a heater for said grid having a ring support which has top and bottom walls, and inner and outer cylindrical walls and formed with two enclosed tubular pasinner cylindrical wall, means in said two passages 10 connecting said conductors with said terminals, said conductors being folded back and directed through said other two passages from which they emerge through said outer cylindrical wall, a clamping plate engaging said ring support and covering said other two passages, and means attaching said plate to said grid so as to secure said support thereto.

HOMER. H. MIL ER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Gagnon July 4, 1911 Scofield May 19, 1931 Propernick May 5, 1942 Kollath Jan. 9, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Dec. 16, 1926 

